Call for Submissions
The Maryland Workforce Association is excited to welcome you back to the Raising The Bar Conference – a signature event that brings together workforce, education, and training professionals from across Maryland and beyond. This is more than a conference – it's a space for connection, collaboration, and bold conversations that move our workforce system forward.
As the landscape of workforce continues to evolve, we are challenged to be more creative, adaptive, and impactful in how we serve job seekers, youth, and employers. At the same time, the Blueprint for Maryland's Future calls for deeper alignment between workforce systems, K-12 education, and community colleges to ensure Maryland's students are fully prepared for college, careers, and lifelong success.
This year's conference is focused on what it takes to build and sustain a world-class workforce system. Attendees will explore:
- Professional development for front-line workforce, employment, and training professionals
- Innovative practices and partnerships that are changing the way we work
- The growing role of apprenticeships and work-based learning models
- Sector strategies and cross-system collaboration
- Current and emerging industry trends and the most in-demand jobs across our region
If you're tackling tough challenges, piloting new ideas, or seeing results from proven strategies – we want to hear from you. Come share what's working, learn from your peers, and be apart of shaping the future of workforce development in Maryland.
Workshop Proposals
Of significant interest are proposals that address innovation, effective delivery of services, and workshops that provide information, tools or ideas that are practical and easily replicated.
The 2025 Raising the Bar Conference will include workshops organize around six tracks and workshops selected will reflect content for beginner, intermediate, and expert level professionals.
Workshop Topic Ares: We are seeking proposals that offer practical tools, innovative strategies, and forward-thinking ideas aligned with the following key areas of focus:
- Program Support
- Strategic Partnerships
- Business, Industry & Emerging Trends
- Special Populations
- Leadership
- Foundations of Workforce
Submission
Workshop audiences will include people interested in learning about innovative methods to serve clients in all aspects of the workforce development system, public policies that support the effective delivery of services, and workshops that provide information, tools or ideas that are practical and easily replicated.
Workshops are 60 minutes and should encompass best practices, which have demonstrated measures of success. All proposals must be submitted through the form below and must be complete.
Workshop titles may be edited to prepare the conference program. Workshop proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM on June 28, 2019. EXTENDED to July 9th at 5pm.
Content must be informational and educational, not commercial. Presentations that are sales pitches for products or services will be eliminated from consideration.
Review Process
Raising the Bar’s Conference Committee will evaluate proposals based solely on the infor-mation submitted. Presenters, titles and content are expected to correspond to the pro-posal and substitutions of content or presenters require prior approval.
Once a workshop has been accepted, no changes of speakers or workshop content will be allowed without prior approval. Presenters selected will be asked to complete a “Presenter Agreement” form.
Principal presenters will be notified whether their workshops have been accepted by the end of July 19, 2019.
Other Information
Raising the Bar does not subsidize travel, expenses.
- Presenters will receive FREE conference registration the day/s they are selected to present.
- AV equipment will be available, however, presenters should bring their own laptop.
For more information, please contact: RTBInfo@MarylandWorkforceAssociation.org and include RTB Call for Proposals in the subject line.